nocturna

nocturna

so this is it.
the 7 foot drawing i sent off to the sun valley art center for the domestic life show.

i think if i had to do it all over i wouldn't recommend starting a 7 foot long drawing when you are 6-7 months pregnant. it took me so much longer than it would have in a non-pregnant state as i could only sit on the floor for so long, or stand for so long, or hold the drawing away from the wall to sew for so long. i actually finished the piece right before i ended up in the hospital giving birth to cc early.

info on the piece:
bed drawing :: nocturna [we'll soon be three]
2009
colored pencil, watercolor, acrylic, ink, embroidery/thread, felt, crochet doilies, glasshead pins on drafting film
48" x 86"

nocturna  :: side view

but then it's not often i have a curator tell me - oh yes - we can accommodate a 7 foot piece and yes you can have it unframed and yes you can make it installational. we'd LOVE that.

so... how could i resist? of course being pregnant - the piece is all about that really. can you tell that now that i tell you? [bottom right is basically about conception, you could say i'm represented by green, hubby by brown/gray and cc by pink. she's the bed w/out the bedspread because she's still an unknown. the doilies stand in for sperm, seed, heart... now i've probably told you too much?]

nocturna :: detail of browndoily

i really wanted to add 3-d aspects to this drawing. something i started doing more with the pigmentary portraits. i started with just doilies par usual. but then after my crit group came i wanted to do something counter to all the "girly" aspects of the drawing. hence the felt squares - which are in the same size ratios as the doily i was drawing. and once i pinned them started to be like pillows or beds themselves. all the better!

nocturna :: detail of gray felt square

since i couldn't fly to ketchem to install the piece myself i had to devise a way to instruct them how to do it. basically i typed out detailed instructions with illustrations, but then also had to point out where the holes where to pin stuff....

nocturna :: how it arrived

so the piece arrived like this.... and then they had to put it together step by step.

happy friday everyone! have a good weekend

p/s - goccing with the little actually worked! sophia wanted a picture - but i didn't take one. i am going to print again soon, so i'll snap a shot that time, K?

Comments

Anonymous said…
lisa it is beautiful. love the dimensionality and layering...amazing, as always. hope you and cc are well:)
clairehelene7 said…
I already said something about this on Flickr, but it really beautiful. The layes and connections are wonderful. Well done.
sulu-design said…
Stunning! So gorgeously rich and complex.
Anonymous said…
I absolutely love this piece, lj, in so many ways but mostly for the story it tells. Beautiful work. xo
shim + sons said…
amazing, lisa!!! it is so beautiful.
shari said…
wow lisa. i'm speechless. did you know that my nickname for maggie is little? xo
Esti said…
It's beautiful. I like every aspect of it: the meaning, of course, the story, the colors, the doilies, the pins, the display... It's all come together beautifully. Congrats.
Camilla said…
I'm glad you included some info about how you instructed the gallery to install it- I was going to ask about that, it must be a bit nerve-wracking to send a piece out into the world and hope that it gets installed right.

I too love the story behind this piece, and good of cc to wait until it was finished.
Di said…
It's fantastic! I love the colours and the 3-D aspects on the drawing are the perfect touch!
Anonymous said…
i love how you've seamlessly woven your new life together. this piece is beautiful!
Anonymous said…
oh! love, love, love...
Anonymous said…
lisa, this piece is amazing. so delicate and intimate. i love the placement of the little bed.

as for the photo, i'm going to hold you to it...mostly because i know cc will treasure an image like that!
Anonymous said…
Beautiful work to see, Lisa... and I enjoyed hearing of the process behind it... it makes it all the more wonderful.
Meg said…
soooo beautiful, love the story and explanatuion behind it.
it's GORGEOUS. my gosh, the patience, lisa. wow.
bugheart said…
that really
is an
amazing
piece...
i love
hearing your
explanations...
it brings
it to
such
a beautiful
new level...
your installation
directions
must be
amazing.
as usual
i wish
i could go see it.
some day.
miss you.
xo
Katrina said…
lisa!

this is absolutely gorgeous. truly, truly gorgeous. i love your bed series. in fact, i just posted about one of them over on my blog. congrats to you...7' is quite an accomplishment. and the story makes it that much better.

xoxo, k.
Mary-Laure said…
Oh. My. God. I am fascinated with this piece. So whimsical and original, so "floating" and dreamy. Genuine art.
love said…
Sherrlyn of http://www.lovesimplyhappens.blogspot.com says... Beautiful art. Just stumbled here via someone else's blog but dont' remember whose. I'll be back to see more beauty. Sherrlyn
babelfish said…
You have such a great eye for composition (love the thought process as always), 'nocturna [we'll soon be three]', what a cute title!
Unknown said…
this is beautiful, lisa. i love knowing what went into the piece, too, and what it means to you.
abby said…
I love this piece for so many, many reasons. It is just stunning and gorgeous and I love reading your description of it. Hope you and your little fam are doing well :)
shisomama said…
wonderful, lisa. i love reading about how your work is YOU and also reflects the new changes in your life. i bet it looks so different in person. in picture/blog form, it looks small!
Di said…
Such a beauful, delicate piece. I do enjoy hearing some of the 'behind the scenes' details and process in it's creation too.
louise said…
Love it! The incorporation of felt is a stroke of brilliance I think. xo lj
Luna Levy said…
This is sooooo amazing and beautiful. Wow. I am blown away. I must post a link to it today on my blog - hope that is okay. And big, big congratulations on your pregnancy. I am so behind on everything.
Oh, how I wish I could see your show in person. It will be incredible.
yes the layers of meaning and imagery are so meaningful and evident. it is always so nice to me to hear the story from the artist, what they were thinking and experiencing during the making of the piece.
what is your crit group?
amisha said…
i LOVE this lisa. so so much. and i am so glad that you shared its back-story... i love knowing that stuff :) wishing so hard i could see this in person. xox

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